Let me start with a confession. The things I am going to write about in this post I have been or am guilty of. It is something that I have been thinking about as I have been surfing the blogging world.
Right vs. Left, Emergent vs. Evangelical, Protestant vs. Catholic , Male vs. Female Charismatic vs. non or post Charismatic. These are issues that divide us, the Body of Christ. This last week or so, I have been shocked at how vicious the comments have gotten on some of the blogs I read. The hatred that spews out from people is very mind boggling. Why are these such hot buttons? Why are we not finding common ground, things we can agree on?
I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:
Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
The third day He arose again from the dead
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.
Aren’t these the non negotiable? If I am a Republican, or if I believe is the Gifts of the holy Spirit, or if I am Catholic, are those the things that make me a “good” Christian? Can I not be a “good” Christian and vote for a Democrat, or do I have to stay to the right? If I lean to the right am I not enlightened?
Are there things that we as Believers will disagree on. Absolutely. Isn’t that what iron sharpening iron means. I have had many people who have challenge me in regards to my believes and have caused me to really think about what it is I believe and why. For most of my Christian life I have believed things only because that’s what I was told and not because I had sought out the truth. I am at a place in my life where everything I thought to be truth is being shaken, and I am questioning everything except that God is God and He is who I choose to live my life for. I want to love God with my whole heart, mind and soul, and my neighbor as myself, not spew hatred and anger at people who may not see eye to eye with me! I want and need to be challenged, I want to question the things I believe and why I believe them! I think this is the working out of ones salvation.
Lori,
I had a frustrating conversation at a conservative blog this weekend. It started with me stating that when we apply the term “the biblical truth” to our position on non-essential beliefs, that we essentially shut down any conversation with sincere believers who hold a different position.
From there I was told that the Bible is not subject to interpretation and that we must be willing to defend our stand until we prove ourselves right and the other person wrong.
I suggested that we all interpret scripture as we grow in our knowledge and revelation of God and his Word. Yes, we should wrestle with the issues ourselves and live faithfully to our understanding. However scholars and theologians have debated the same issues for centuries.
At that point, I was labeled relativistic, postmodern, emerging, confused, redefining truth, etc. The fact is that I stand quite firmly in my beliefs. However, there is no place for conversation, because according to their view, someone must be right and someone must be wrong.
I refrained from telling them that they are the ones who are wrong.
The Abbess is not surprised to find Grace here commenting!
Sonja and I have been having a bit of this same talk … where is the humble peacemaker looking for more wisdom and insight?
Apparently, not on many of these blogs!
Grace- thank you for coming by and leaving a comment.
It was actually comments left on your blog that got me going on this. You deleted them!
I am pretty set on what I believe about most things, but I have changed my position on alot of things. That is what searching out the truth is all about, right? And Biblical truth, hum, that is always an interesting thing, because I can twist anything to fit my argument. Even if I completly disagree with someone, does that mean I need to be hateful? I’m just over all that, you know what I mean?
Peggy- funny thing, it was comments left on Sonja’s blog as well. One of the things that I loved about our time at Seabeck was that we all came from different views and backgrounds, but we found common ground. Hmm, I want to be a humble peacemaker, not a raging bull. Unfortunately, I’m sometimes the later.
Honey, you are simply wrong and I can prove it!
Rickard you are just a trouble maker!!!!!
[...] the few blog posts I’ve managed to read were this one by VikingFru; she called her post Us vs. Them. I think many of us have written similar posts at one time or another when we’ve become [...]
I wasted part of my life trying to distinguish between us and them. I should have realized something was wrong when a VERY conservative man from the movement of churches I’m a part of warned me against drawing too many lines. He said I’d end up alone. At the time his comment annoyed me. I was only well after that, after my faith had gone completely toxic and I crashed emotionally and spiritually that I realized I had become a stone cold legalist.
It is REALLY hard to show people the patience I myself need as well to allow for growth and development. It is even harder to take seriously the possibility that I could actually be wrong.
Thanks for this post.
Adam- thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment. Drawing lines, that doesn’t leave much room does it. Of course there are things that I do draw lines on, but I just don’t have the energy to fight about certain things…
having patience for people and admitting I may be wrong, I still struggle with those as well!
[...] the few blog posts I’ve managed to read were this one by VikingFru; she called her post Us vs. Them. I think many of us have written similar posts at one time or another when we’ve become [...]